Something Tasty? Just Look Down

By MARLENA SPIELER

Published: July 5, 2006

PURSLANE'S rosy tendrils creep over the sun-baked lawns and sidewalks in suburb and city, profusely sprouting small green tear-shaped leaves from the start of summer to the chill of autumn. Unlike many other weeds, though, it is also likely to be found at local farmers' markets now.

Cultivated, purslane grows in about 40 varieties, identified by leaf size and color, stem length, and whether it crawls or grows upright. ''The good stuff starts coming in July,'' said Alex Paffenroth, of Paffenroth Gardens in Warwick, N.Y., who sells his purslane at the Union Square Greenmarket on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Purslane is a succulent. Bite into its smooth fat leaves and you get a burst of tangy, almost sour juice that's refreshing with summer food -- potato salad, tuna salad (or tartare) -- or tucked in with a burger.

From Provence to Greece, Turkey to Kuala Lumpur, Mexico to Galilee, purslane is gathered in the wild and sold at local farmers' markets under many names.

In Mexico and California, verdolaga is eaten with pork and tomatillos; at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco, Steve Sando, owner of Rancho Gordo New World Specialty Food in Napa, tucks a few whole stems into his big fat carnitas and tomatillo tamal. Farmers in Provence sell pourpier in wild mesclun. In Greece, little old ladies forage from field to field hunting glistrida, and in Turkey semizotu is mixed with garlicky yogurt and chopped into fetching salads with ripe tomatoes. In Galilee I was told that ''regelah'' was delicious in salads -- regelah being Hebrew for foot, since purslane is a plant typically found right at your feet. A Russian ?gr?hared a recipe for portulak in zesty potato salad.

On a trip to Malaysia I found gelang pasir eaten raw, dipped into spicy fish-chili paste, or cut up into nasi ulam, a turmeric-tinted rice salad. Purslane makes Lebanon's classic tabbouleh and fattoush even zippier. In Sri Lanka it's stir-fried with chilies and fish, while suberi-hiyu is pickled in Japanese villages, to eat in the winter, alongside rice.

The food writer Paula Wolfert says that purslane is pickled in the republic of Georgia, too. ''Purslane is added to the traditional break-the-fast soup, harira, when Ramadan falls during purslane season in Morocco,'' Ms. Wolfert wrote in a recent exchange of e-mails, ''while home cooks in Gaziantep, Turkey, dry purslane. When rehydrated it is even more potently delicious.''

Some complain that purslane can be, well, a tad slimy. And it can be a challenge to chew the stems, though some love them the most. Sotiris Kitrilakis, owner of Mt. Vikos Cheese, importers of artisanal Greek cheeses; an expert on Greek foods; and a friend, lives on the island of Zakynthos, where purslane is eaten stems and all with fresh dill and green onions, sprinkled with salt and good red wine vinegar. ''The acid counteracts any sliminess,'' he said.

Its degree of sourness can be controlled by when it's picked, according to Aylin Oney Tan, a food writer for the newspaper Cumhuriyet in Turkey. ''Purslane is more sour in the morning,'' Ms. Tan said, ''but as the day progresses, and it has absorbed the sunlight, it gets sweeter.''

At Thomas Keller's Per Se, golden purslane is served in its infancy as a micro-green, dressed with olive oil, vinegar and salt. (At Per Se's lyrical California sibling, the French Laundry, the baby purslane is green rather than golden.)

Ethan Kostbar, the chef at Rose Water in Park Slope, Brooklyn, used purslane last year and is ready for this season: ''One of the dishes I plan to serve is a summer salad of purslane -- leaves only -- with nectarines, red onions, boucheron goat cheese, burnet leaves and heirloom tomatoes, dressed in ginger and honey vinaigrette.''

In addition to tastiness, there is another reason to eat purslane. Research has shown it to be high in many vitamins and antioxidants. In some of the first medical research on purslane, Dr. Artemis P. Simopoulos wrote in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1986 that it has remarkably high levels of alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 essential fatty acid) for something that's not a fish. Since then, purslane has been found to have high amounts of melatonin and other beneficial nutrients.

Once picked, purslane doesn't stay perky for long. Keep it in a jar in a cool place with its stems in a small amount of cold water, and plan on using it within a day or two.

1. Place potatoes in cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until just tender, about 15 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain well.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, yogurt, dill, scallions and capers. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

3. Slice potatoes thickly, removing as much skin as easily comes off, leaving on a little for texture and ease of slicing. Add potatoes to mixing bowl, and toss gently to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add purslane, fold together with potatoes, and serve.